As our neighbors in Idaho and Montana gear up for wolf hunts, hundreds of wolves roaming Wyoming remain on the endangered species list.

Idaho began selling wolf hunting tags May 5 — just a day after the predators were taken off the endangered species list in most states. Montana wildlife officials are looking to issue wolf hunting licenses beginning in August.

Raising and selling cattle in the Powell area got more complicated this week. As of Saturday, Powell and surrounding Park County areas are part of a “designated surveillance zone” for brucellosis, meaning more stringent requirements for testing and vaccinating cattle.

While adding the rest of Park County to the surveillance zone isn’t surprising, it’s a new headache for many. Livestock producers must properly identify all cattle before moving them out of the surveillance zone, which now adds all of eastern Park County to the Big Horn County line. Cows 12 months old or older must be tested for brucellosis 30 days before being sold or moved out of the DSA.

New boundary extends to Park-Big Horn County line; takes effect April 30

At the end of this week, all cattle in the Powell area will be part of an expanded brucellosis surveillance zone. For local producers, that will mean more stringent requirements for testing and identifying cattle. The new “designated surveillance area” boundaries take effect Saturday.

“It’s your cattle we’re trying to protect. We’re not trying to force something down your throat — we just don’t want to see brucellosis in your herd,” state veterinarian Jim Logan told about 60 area producers gathered at a Wednesday meeting in Powell.

Respondents identify transfer station as most urgent need; see golf course funding as low priority

A city of Powell survey shows the majority of residents think a landfill transfer is the most urgent issue facing the city.

Few Powell residents identify the Powell Golf Course as a top priority for special funding.

City leaders should consider residents’ survey responses in decision making

A couple of months ago, the city of Powell posed nine questions to residents and members of the local business community. In recent weeks, they received hundreds of answers.

Not only did 780 residents respond to the nine written questions, many filled the margins of the survey with handwritten comments — dozens upon dozens.

A landowner wanting to sell property north of Clark Street for a new Parkside Elementary School is appealing a decision by the Powell City Council, calling it arbitrary and contending it interfered with property rights and reduced the land’s market value.

At issue is the council’s decision last month to vacate a curved Clark Street extension on the city’s master street plan and replace it with a new extension of Clark leading north in a straight route to Lane 8.

Swimmers awaiting the reopening of the Powell Aquatic Center must wait a while longer.

The pool closed last month for work to repair areas where the surface material was peeling and for annual maintenance. The facility was scheduled to reopen Sunday, April 10, but the work will take longer than originally planned, city leaders said Monday.

For the third time in as many years, the Powell Valley Chamber of Commerce is without an executive director.

Kim Dillivan received a letter of termination on Thursday morning, he said.

Wyoming right to honor veterans with annual ‘Welcome Home Day’

It seems unfathomable, but for thousands of American veterans, it was an unfortunate reality. Veterans returning home from battle zones — where they risked their lives, spent months apart from loved ones and faithfully served while their plans and dreams were interrupted by war — only to be scorned or completely ignored upon arriving home.

Curious about the assessed property value of your neighbor’s house? Or who owns a certain property? Or the square footage of any building in Park County?

Just go online.